Renato Abelho (formerly Filipe Belindro), commonly referred to as Rena, is one of the main characters of Desperate Schoolboys. A brave and determined young man, Rena serves as one of the protagonists and titular characters of the series, as his past, relationships, secrets and troubles are explored throughout the series. Following the shocking murder of his friend James, Rena and his remaining best friends reunite to try and make sense of the tragedy, all the while trying to cope with their own personal woes. The handsome Rena must also deal with the repercussions of the shady wrongdoings perpetuated by his dangerous mother, who tries her best to keep the family's secrets safe. As his life starts spiraling out of control, Rena does his best to keep moving forward, to find strength and to be happy.

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We want this boy. And we want no proof that he ever lived here. As far as the world will be aware this boy is our son, who has lived with us all his life. And his name is and always has been Renato Abelho.

Rena is good friends with the other members of his group: Ben, Joe, Josh and James. First meeting James when he moved to Wiksteria High, and showed him around the school. However James is mysteriosuly killed over the summer. ("Who You Really Are, Part 2"/"Pilot")

I know that you have been keeping something from me. And I want to know what!

Rena is haunted by mysterious dreams, however he tries to ignore them. He meets Ali on his first day back at school, who explains she is having trouble meeting people since she is new. Rena agrees to show her around. Rena then asks his mother about the strange dreams however she assures him they are probably nothing. ("Pilot")

Rena walks to school with Ali, the two becoming closer. However he is distraced by strange flashes of a younger himself crying, his mother holding his hand and James. Rena asks his mother further questions about his flashes, but she tells him to ignore them. They are over heard by Rena's dad, who tells Justine that they should tell Rena the truth. However she makes it clear that she will make sure Rena never knows. ("Conscious Decisions")

Rena brings Ali on the groups day out to a theme park. They both have a good time on the rides and even arrange a date, however after they kiss, Ali abruptly runs off. Rena finds her and she explains that the kiss made her feel weird, though she doesn't know why. Rena explains to her about his dreams. The two then kiss again. {"Partners in Crime")

Rena begins searching for answers to his dreams, going through his parents draws. He finds an old picture of a small boy and demands to know who it is. Justine explains that it was his brother who died, but she refuses to say anymore, claiming to be protecting Rena. Rena then follows his dad, Rudolfo, into the woods and watches him put down flowers. Rena later returns and digs up the spot, to find the buried remains of a baby. He phones Ali, and concludes he killed his brother when he was young. ("Worthy of Belief")

Rena gets a phone call from Ali, saying that she has ran away to the city. Rena finds her outside her old orphanage. She explains that things are too different from the orphanage, with her new parents and not seeing her old friends. Rena comforts her and Ali assure him that he couldn't have killed his brother. They then tell each other that they love each other. ("Seeking the Door")

Rena talks to Ben about how well things are going with Ali. He then returns home to see his father, Rudolfo has fallen from ladders while fixing the roof and died. Rena attends Rudolfo's funeral. Justine tells him that everything happens for a reason. He is comforted by Ben, but Rena assures him that he can move on. Ali opens up more to him, telling him that people at the orphanage once thought she was crazy. But she refuses to explain. ("Papa Said")/("All for the Best")

When there is a fire at Wiksteria High, Rena and Ali are trapped on the stairs as a beam falls on Ali. Rena tries to lift it but to no avail. Ali tells him that she was seen as crazy at the orphanage because she believed someone who was apparently imaginary was real. She tells him that the boy was Rena. They then say a fond farewell, before Rena is taken out of the building just in time. Ali is crushed. ("Burning Bridges")

Rena is devastated over the death of Ali. But he goes to the orphanage to look for proof of what she told him. He meets Mr. Silver, the orphanage owner. However he tells Rena that Ali was crazy and lied to him. ("You Meddling Kids")

After Justine is arressed, Rena moved in with his Granddad, Hugo Daniels. Hugo lived in an isolated cabin by a lake and was clearly a little senile. They had never met before, as he didn't have a very good relationship with Justine. Rena reluclatnly moved in, but didn't feel Hugo wanted him. Hugo assured him he did. Rena then went to visit his mother in prison, deamdning to know where his real parents were. She lashed out, saying that she was his only mother. So Rena went to visit Mr. Silver again, at the orphange. Mr. Silver complied, sorry for everything that had happened and swearing he didn't know the full story. However before leaving, Rena made Mr. Silver feel guilty for how he treated Ali. ("Forever Reforming")/("Sorrow is Forgiven, Not Forgotten")

Meanwhile Ben introduced his new girlfriend, Emma, to the group, including Rena. The group did not approve, finding her selfish and rude. However Ben continued to see her. Rena also met the new girl, Mary, when she was changing in an alleyway, to avoid her strict father from seeing what she was wearing. Rena escorted her home after the awkward encunter, but Henry, the father, unhappily watched. Ali voiced over an episode, saying how she missed Rena and how he missed her. But she said that she wanted Rena to be happy and that he and Mary had her blessing. ("Sorrow is Forgiven, Not Forgotten")/("My Girlfriend, the Bitch")

Hugo and Rena then bonded over fishing. He told him that he was going to see his real parents, whom he found and turned out to be very wealthy. Rena stayed the night with his biological parents, Christina and Miguel Belindro, who were happy to see him. However Rena overheard they speaking, saying they were keeping something from him. ("Wanting for Everything")/("Binding Affairs")

Rena confronted the parents, not wanting to be lied to again. They assured him they weren't and so he invited them to a party. Here he talked to Mary more, however he saw his parents whispering. They told him the truth that: Christina was dying, and that's why they gave him away, because she had been fighting cancer since he was born. ("Boo!")

Emma suggested going on a double-date with Mary and Rena, hoping to help them get closer. However during the date Emma proved dominating and rude, Ben confronted her on it. Ben and Rena then joined the Pupil Council, ran by Miss Harrison, Rean hoping to run for Leader however Emma persuaded Ben to run against him. Ben won but stood down once Rena told Ben how much it meant to him. ("The Search Party's Over"/"King of the Castle")

Rena then starts sleeping with Miss Harrison, intended to just be some fun but Rena wishes to take it to the next level, wanting to look after Miss Harrison. She informs him that he isn't capable, but he explains on the contrary that he's been given a lot of financial compensation for his family tragedies. Miss Harrison and Rena then plan to run away together, Rena taking the money from his bank and saying goodbye to Hugo. ("When God's Back is Turned"/"It Just Never Ends")

During the masacre of Wiksteria High, Rena and Miss Harrison are ready to run away with the money however, just after she explains she is taking the money alone, she is shot by Donald. Rena then sees Mary and they hide in a classroom together, Mary explaining that shes been wanting to see him but has been kept home by Henry. They decide to make it outside through the vents however Erwin spots them and begins shooting, hitting Rena in the leg, but they make it outside okay. ("One Fell Swoop")

Rena and Mary have a date at her house when Henry is out, however he returns early. Mary attempts to hide him but he is found by her father, who then locks them both in the basement. As they are trapped Mary explains that Rena should stay away from her as her last boyfriend ended up dying. Hugo then comes looking for Rena, causing him to be locked in the basement too. Eventaully, Rena gets a phone signal and calls Ben for help, Mary not wishing for the police to arrest her dad. However just as Ben makes it there to get them out, Nick sets the house on fire. Ben frees them from the basement, and Rena punches Nick bloody for the fire, realising he also started the one which killed Ali, however Mary screams that her father is still inside. Mary goes back to get Henry, where Henry explains how his protection for Mary has gotten out of control and that he killed James. Henry tells Rena to look after Mary, before walking into the fire to die. Rena makes it outside and then Mary comes home to live with him and Hugo. ("Hail Mary"/"A Spot of Bother"/"Who You Really Are, Part 1"/"Who You Really Are, Part 2")

Two weeks after the fire that consumed the Strange household, we learn that Mary has been living with Rena and his new family. The young woman starts to pick up on the fact that his grandfather, Hugo, seems to be forgetting things, but when she brings this up to Rena he becomes temperamental. One night, not long after, the young couple goes to bed and the distraught and amnesiac Hugo is confused over a photograph of his daughter, whom he can't recognize, and unbeknownst to him, a fire spreads in his house, stemming from the fireplace. Within a short amount of time, Rena and his loved ones are left without a place to stay. ("The Start of Something New")

After Hugo burns the cabin down, he, Rena, Mary, and Rocky stay with Christina and Miguel. Later on, Rena confronts his grandfather about his forgetfulness and decides to take him to a doctor. Hugo claims that there is nothing wrong with him, but nonetheless he agrees to go. After the check up, the doctor tells Rena that Hugo is showing early signs of dementia. ("Blinding One's Eyes")